Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Hypocrisy or just better than most?

The House passed a bill (HR1206) that would prohibit the IRS from adding staff until it can show that none of its employees have tax-delinquency issues even though the delinquency rate for congressional staffs is roughly 5 times that of IRS employees. (One percent versus five.)

Meanwhile, the rate is nine percent for the general population. Then it's called tax evasion, not delinquency, so I'm not sure that counts.

The House passed another bill (HR 4890) that prohibits the IRS from handing out bonuses until they provide a customer service strategy. “The IRS failed to answer 8 million calls during tax season last year. Yet over a short five-year period, they handed out nearly $6 million in bonuses to themselves,” noted House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

(Bonuses for not working? I don't recall the World Headquarters for Work Avoidance paying bonuses. Maybe my check got lost in the mail.)

Lastly, as many of you have asked if I've recovered from the tax season yet, here is an excellent summary of what tax season is like:
" Busy season is over. Last Tuesday, tens of thousands of tax preparers simultaneously emerged from their months-long social cocoon in desperate need of a nap, a tan, and a treadmill. 
" Soon enough, the long hours, the bad food, and the untenable stress imposed by clients, coworkers, and deadlines — both real and arbitrary– will be a distant memory. Also to fade will be that sobering thought that nagged you all winter — the one where you remembered, during your darker moments, that you were enduring all of the physical and emotional abuse just to put numbers on a form that have a 1-3% chance of being inspected by the IRS. "
I Hope You Had A Good Tax Season, Because Next Year Is Going To Be A Nightmare - Forbes
In the article, Tony Nitti explains what we tax preparers have to look forward to next year which most of you won't be interested in. However, my accountant friends will appreciate his closing remarks:
" You might say, well, why not file extensions and then prepare the returns in May, June and July, and August so that there is no busy season at all? To which I would respond, 'you must be new here.' "

No comments: